Stretch releasing adhesive tapes are a class of high performance pressure-sensitive adhesives that combine strong holding power with clean removal and no surface damage. Stretch releasing adhesive tapes are characterized by their ability to be cleanly removed from a surface without damaging the surface by stretching the tape. A commercially available double-sided stretch releasing adhesive is the product sold under the trade designation COMMAND adhesive by 3M Company, St. Paul, Minn. This product is currently manufactured as discrete strips with one end of the strip including a non-adhesive pull tab to facilitate stretching of the strip during removal. Stretch releasing adhesives are useful in a wide variety of assembling, joining, attaching, and mounting applications.
Levers are simple machines capable of producing a mechanical advantage which find application in many well known devices. Common examples of levers include scissors, nut crackers, and tweezers. For certain lever devices, it is desirable to attach the lever to a surface. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,277 (Leopoldi) discloses a lever adapter for a door knob for aiding arthritic patients in rotating the door knob. The lever adapter is attached to the door knob by a concave, arcuate member having a layer of adhesive. U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,476 (Meeks) discloses a cable clamp including a lever. The cable clamp includes a double-sided adhesive tape for attaching the clamp to a work piece. These devices, however, have limited uses and suffer from other limitations and drawbacks.
There is therefore a need for a versatile lever device that can be easily attached to and removed from a surface or work piece and can be used to generate tensile or compressive forces or torque depending on the particular end use application. It would therefore be desirable to provide a simple and inexpensive lever device that can be used to produce tension, compression, or torque and that can be securely fastened to a surface and readily removed therefrom without damaging the surface or leaving unwanted residue.